Early Childhood Programming

Inquiry, development and learning take place throughout a child’s day - and every moment has a purpose. St. Marcus’ Early Childhood programming, (K3-K5) is the first opportunity a child has to become introduced to the highly regarded St. Marcus experience. In the classroom, children learn through structured activities, classroom projects, and self-regulated play with peers in an atmosphere built on the foundation of a caring, Christian community. The early childhood programming cultivates each child’s natural progression of development, while exposing them to a language-rich environment in the areas of beginning math and reading concepts, fine motor activities, art, dramatic play, bible stories, music and social interactions.

Early learning with a focus on technology:

K3 [3 year old kindergarten]Technology, through iPad's and SMART Boards, has allowed K3 teachers to bring Internet resources and applications to students' learning. With the switch to Common Core standards and a shift to critical thinking development, it is still important for teachers to intentionally "exercise" the working memory of young minds through memorization and recall. The K3 teachers do this through music videos in which students memorize words to songs (both fun and educational) and actions to lyrics. They also have students participate and interact with apps on the iPads/SMART TV that practice recalling information learned throughout the day, week, month and year. Lastly, teachers have switched to digital portfolios of student learning and assessment.

K4 [4 year old kindergarten]Independent learning time is a planned part of the day when students take instruction delivered by a teacher and apply it to a variety of performance tasks during CENTERS. Small groups rotate amongst several tasks, one being learning-centered iPad use. K4 students navigate through specific apps, which reinforce classroom learning, specifically in areas of literacy and math. The majority of our K4 students are reading by the end of the year.

K5 [5 year old kindergarten]The students in K5 have practiced problem solving, critical thinking and research skills through a variety of educational apps on iPad minis. An observer in these classrooms would see students developing literacy skills (at their own level) through Raz Kids A-Z, find a hidden story or video after scanning QR Codes or enjoying independent reading time with a digital version of their favorite children's book.

Parental and Spiritual involvement:

God has given parents / guardians the primary responsibility of nurturing their children in all things. As stated in Ephesians 6:4: “…bring your children up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” A Christian school and a parent / guardian has a secondary responsibility as shared in Matthew 28:19-20: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

Students are taught to be disciples of Christ and to continue to spread and share his word.